Genetic enhancement of the ability to tolerate photoinhibition by introduction of unsaturated bonds into membrane glycerolipids

Strong light leads to damage to photosynthetic machinery, particularly at low temperatures, and the main site of the damage is the D1 protein of the photosystem II (PSII) complex. Here we describe that transformation of Synechococcos sp. PCC 7942 with the desA gene for a Delta 12 desaturase increased unsaturation of membrane lipids and enhanced tolerance to strong light. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the successful genetic enhancement of tolerance to strong light. Analysis of the light-induced inactivation and of the subsequent recovery of the activity of the PSII complex revealed that the recovery process was markedly accelerated by the genetic transformation. Labeling experiments with [S-35]L-methionine also revealed that the synthesis of the D1 protein de novo at low temperature, which was a prerequisite for the restoration of the PSII complex, was much faster in the transformed cells than in the wild-type cells. These findings demonstrate that the ability of membrane lipids to desaturate fatty acids is important for the photosynthetic organisms to tolerate strong light, by accelerating the synthesis of the D1 protein de novo.